Review: SEASICK at The REACH at Kennedy Center

Climate change and theatre..unlikely? Absolutely. Effective? Absolutely. This week I had the privilege of attending the US premiere of Alanna Mitchell's adaptation of a book she wrote titled Seasick. The performance was held in the REACH tent at the Kennedy Center and is a prolific piece documenting Mitchell's search for answers about the rising temperatures and acidity in our oceans and what that means for us as a species - pretty heavy stuff.

The show opens with Mitchell coyly greeting the audience, cautioning them that she is in no way shape or form an actor and that this is her first time stepping foot on a stage in this setting. She nervously rakes through her hair and steels herself to deliver a personal account of her time as an oceanic journalist traipsing across the planet with top marine biologists as they study the most important eco system on our planet. Her nervousness seems to melt though when she begins to describe the beauty and mystery of our oceans and her passion for the planet turly shines. Mitchell is somehow able to invite us to join in whatever memory she's recounting and even though we weren't there, her magnificent ability to storytell makes up for our absence. We are able to picture the coral orgy she vividly and candidly describes, the palpable fear she felt when riding in a submersible in which she was told "not to worry, it had been many years since someone died in there", and unfortunately the impending sense of doom that slowly creeped up on the audience as she revealed each finding and its significance. The findings are catastrophic which is no surprise as scientists have been saying this for years. However, the beauty of Seasick and Mitchell herself is that she is not out to blame anyone, there's no smoking gun, and she assures you that the damage that has been done to the environment is not all because you take your car to work everyday or flew to Disney for your family vacation. She suggests change on a more systemic scale to curb the damage our planet is currently enduring. The beauty of Seasick is truly Mitchell's time and effort spent making this an accessible call to action. She does an incredible job of breaking down everything from the pH scale to the implications of our carbon footprint. She demands change and she wants her audience to as well. Seasick can be seen touring internationally. For details visit https://alannamitchell.com/sea-sick-2/